This CD was Anna
Netrebko’s first solo recital and
it was recorded in 2003. When it now
appears again it is for a handful
of the arias, their third packaging
in less than five years. A couple
of years ago there was a disc which
was compiled from her first two recitals,
to which had been added a few excerpts
from her complete La traviata,
a duet with Joseph Calleja from
his second recital and a never before
issued aria from one of the first
sessions. The present set is actually
a straight reissue in harness with
a DVD showing her in five of the arias
from the CD and filmed roughly at
the same time. Offered at a special
price this as good an opportunity
as any to acquire this superb recital
and get Ms Netrebko ‘on film’ at the
same time. David C. F. Wright waxed
lyrical about the original issue (review).
I was just as enthusiastic about the
above-mentioned compilation (review)
but also advised readers to buy the
two original recitals instead – and
here is one of them!

Anna Netrebko’s credentials
as a Mozart singer are well documented
and she is a deep-probing and expressive
Ilia in the first excerpt on this
CD. Idomeneo was Mozart’s first
mature opera and the first where his
psychological insight was fully developed.
In the long recitative we follow Ilia’s
inner monologue when she looks back
on her unhappy life. The music is
tailor-made to express all her feelings.
But the role also needs a singer who
understands her predicament – and
is able to bring it over to the listener,
which is an even harder task when
we have to contend only with the aural
picture. Ms Netrebko has all the expressions
needed and her woe is tangible. One
automatically thinks of her as a natural
Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni
– maybe even a Zerlina, but that is
a role she loathes. She has the measure
of the more dramatic Donna Anna too
– and who said it must be sung by
a Brünnhilde? Singing this role
is more a question of intensity, not
sheer volume.

In the aria from
Benvenuto Cellini she is allowed
to show her coloratura technique,
which is effortless and brilliant
and she has a fine trill. Berlioz
has moments of banality but as in
most of his music the high and the
low thrive side by side. The sublime
is often stressed by the presence
of its less well-endowed sister. The
second French item, the aria and gavotte
from Manon, is a masterpiece
and the role suits Netrebko particularly
well. It is a brilliant reading with
a really alluring gavotte. Is a complete
recording on the agenda, Deutsche
Grammophon? And whil I am on that
topic: the Lucia di Lammermoor
excerpt makes me wish for a complete
version of that opera too. Warmer
than Beverly Sills and more expressive
than Joan Sutherland she seems like
the best of two worlds, and I wouldn’t
mind hearing the excellent Elina Garanca
as Alisa.

Her Amina in La
sonnambula is fresh and more alert
than one is used to and the coloratura
is again superb. Back in French repertoire
Marguerite is another role for the
complete list; she is almost in the
Victoria de los Angeles class – and
that is praise indeed. The Song to
the Moon from Rusalka is quite
simple and unaffected but the big
sweeping melody is filled with darker
tones. Her Musetta is charmingly mischievous.

Besides having the
best vocal resources in this repertoire
since Caballé (Christopher
Howell) or even Callas (Dr. Wright)
she has the looks to beat them both
and the DVD is certainly entertaining.
Vincent Paterson has not strived to
make the chosen scenes related to
the actual situation in the opera
but placed Anna Netrebko in various
witty or surprising environments and
situations; the soprano enjoys every
second of it! The Jewel Song is a
kind of kaleidoscope with Marguerite
in various costumes and surroundings,
flickering past quickly. Musetta’s
waltz is sung in the backseat of a
taxi with her partner turned away
from her, busy talking in his cell-phone.
In the song to the moon she is in
a pool floating on an inflated rubber
raft – Esther Williams-like. It is
inventive, fun and tongue-in-the-cheek.
People who are moderately interested
in opera will appreciate it more than
die-hard opera freaks. Lip-sync is
not always perfect, but so what? When
I want to listen to one of the finest
opera singers now before the public
I choose the CD; when it’s show-time
I pick the DVD and get the same high-quality
singing in the bargain.

If there are still
people listening to opera recordings
forty-eight years on, I believe this
disc will be one of the classics,
just as Joan Sutherland’s ‘Art of
the Prima Donna’ is today and will
continue to be.

Review
IndexesBy
Label Select a label and
all reviews are listed in Catalogue orderBy
MasterworkLinks
from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to
the review
indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Reviews
from previous monthsJoin the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the
discs reviewed. detailsWe welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin
Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to
which you refer.